It is highly desirable to provide copper base alloys having good strength properties as well as good bend properties, good solderability and low contact resistance. It is particularly desirable to provide copper alloys having these properties and which are convenient to process plus may be made economically on a commercial scale.
Commercially, copper alloys tend to be deficient in one or more of the foregoing characteristics. For example, the commercial copper Alloy 510 (a phosphor-bronze containing from 3.5 to 5.8% tin and from 0.03 to 0.35% phosphorus) is superior in strength but poor in bend characteristics. The commercial copper Alloy 725 (a copper-nickel containing 8.5 to 10.5% nickel and 1.8 to 2.8% tin) is superior with respect to bend properties, solderability and contact resistance but deficient in strength.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a process for obtaining an improved copper alloy having a combination of good strength properties, good bend properties, good solderability and desirably low contact resistance.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process as aforesaid which may be readily utilized commercially and which is characterized by relatively low cost.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.